Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Will Asparagus Cure Cancer?

If you have cancer, you have likely read that asparagus will cure it. A letter gone viral online claims this. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s only a matter of time until a copy is forwarded to you by some well-meaning friend or relative.

Those of us who specialize in naturopathic oncology hear about this asparagus business often from our patients, many of who assume the information is true. It’s not.

There is no reason to believe that asparagus will cure cancer. It may actually make a few cancers worse.

Here is what we do know about these claims:

The “Asparagus Cure for Cancer” first appeared in print in the February 1974 issue of Prevention magazine. A second, similar article was printed in the December 1979 issue of Cancer News Journal, a magazine once distributed in health food stores. Both articles claim that a dentist named Richard R. Vensal discovered that eating asparagus could cure cancer.

According to the letter, a cure can be achieved by consuming four tablespoons of pureed cooked asparagus twice a day. Improvement is supposedly seen in two to four weeks.

Unfortunately there is little reason why we should believe this information. Richard Vensal never had anything published to substantiate this claim.

There is one study from 2009 that suggests asparagus has an anti-cancer effect. Chinese researchers reported that a chemical, which they named asparanen A, showed an anticancer effect when added to liver cancer cells.i

No studies describe the results of feeding asparagus to animals with cancer. Nor are there any published clinical trials on giving asparagus to human cancer patients.

It is certainly widely understood that diets high in vegetables are anticancer. Yet no evidence singles out asparagus in particular, suggesting it has an anticancer effect. There may be some health benefits from eating asparagus because it is a vegetable, but there is little reason to think that asparaguses are special.

In contrast there is substantial information on the anticancer effect of other vegetables. For example, a current search of the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine, lists 597 published articles related to the anticancer effect of broccoli.ii A search for published papers on garlic and cancer yields 648 references.iii

There are only two clinical trials involving asparagus and humans. One paper published in 2009 describes a study in which patients with high blood pressure took a combination of parsley and asparagus extracts in the hope that their blood pressure would go down. Unfortunately, no effect was seen.iv An earlier study published in 2008, reported that a combination of asparagus and elderberry extracts helped patients lose weight.v Losing weight is not curing cancer.

While there is little reason to think that asparagus will cure cancer, there is good reason to think that asparagus may make some cancers, in particular acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), worse.

There is a long established link between asparagus and leukemia. In 1953, John Kidd discovered that blood serum taken from healthy guinea pigs, if injected into mice, killed leukemia cancer cells.vi It wasn’t until ten years later that John Broome explained why. Guinea pig blood contains an enzyme called l-asparaginase, which breaks down the amino acid l-asparagine. Healthy cells make l-asparagine, but certain leukemia cells do not. These leukemia cells must rely on nearby healthy cells to supply them with l-asparagine. The enzyme in the guinea pig blood breaks down the needed l-asparagine depriving the cancer cells of this chemical that they need to grow.vii

L-asparaginase enzyme is sold as a drug (Elspar) and is now part of the standard protocol used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Taking the drug decreases l-asparagine and starves the cancer cells. Most types of cancer do make l-asparagine, so Elspar is only useful in treating a few specific cancer types.

As the names hints, asparagus contain l-asparagine. Eating asparagus would seem ill advised for people who have cancers that respond to l-asparaginase. This enzyme may be useful in treating lymphoma and multiple myeloma.viiiix Eating asparagus may make all of these cancers grow faster, most especially ALL.

People diagnosed with cancer are often desperate to do everything in their power to fight the disease. They grasp onto every story and rumor about anything that might possibly help them. The myth that asparagus cures cancer is a good example. Eating daily doses of asparagus will not cure anyone. Some of these people may actually worsen their situation.

A wiser course of action than believing everything you read online would be to consult a medical practitioner who specializes in naturopathic oncology. There is ample knowledge and evidence that dietary changes and specific foods and supplements may be useful in fighting cancer. It makes sense to base these diet and food choices on evidence and knowledge rather than web-based ‘urban myths.’ When you need specialized knowledge go to a specialist.

The Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OncANP), an affiliate of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, lists naturopathic doctors who specialize in caring for cancer patients on their website: www.oncanp.org

This group tests and provides board certification in naturopathic oncology to those members who meet specified standards of education and experience.

If naturopathic physicians are specialists in natural medicine then OncANP members are specialists in using natural medicine in an oncology setting.

vii Broome JD. Evidence that the L-asparaginase of guinea pig serum is responsible for its antilymphoma effects. I. Properties of the L-asparaginase of guinea pig serum in relation to those of the antilymphoma substance. J Exp Med. 1963 Jul;118:99-120.

5 comments:

There is no clinical proof that asparagus cures various forms of cancer, but there a true story about it below:

"A man who had lung cancer. On March 5th 1971, he was put on the operating table where they found lung cancer so widely spread that it was inoperable. The surgeon sewed him up and declared his case hopeless. On April 5th he heard about the asparagus therapy and immediately started taking it. By August, x-ray pictures revealed that all signs of the cancer had disappeared. He is back at his regular business routine"

Patients usually show some improvement in from 2-4 weeks. It can be diluted with water and used as a cold or hot drink. This suggested dosage is based on present experience, but certainly larger amounts can do no harm and may be needed in some cases.

In addition to asparagus, soursop also effectively kills cancer cells. A study showed that the soursop fruit is one natural remedy that is considered effective, especially for treating one of the most vicious diseases in the world, namely cancer. The research team of the Health Sciences Institute, USA was inspired by Indian tribes in the Amazon jungle that uses all parts of soursop tree, such as wood, leaves, fruits and seeds of soursop as herbal medicine.

Soursap is fruit of Graviola,a tea I used after total removal of my stomach for adenocarcinoma (cancer) of stomach with which most people die. I declined radiation and chemotherapy initially. I have survived nearly 10 years to the surprise of all my doctors.Did Graviola help me survive?? Maybe. I've recently added asparagus!! I need all the help I can get! I doubt it will hurt me and I like asparagus.

About the AANP

"Physicians Who Listen" is the blog of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the national professional society representing licensed or licensable naturopathic physicians who are graduates of accredited four-year, residential graduate programs.

Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the human body has an innate healing ability. Naturopathic doctors teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease.

The views expressed on this blog are those of the contributing authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official positions of the AANP, its Board, or its House of Delegates.